I'm back kind internet dwellers, and I am sorry about the delays in my articles on this blog. Technical problems prevented me from doing so, but you didn't come here to listen/read about me moaning.....
I'm here to whinge about Jeph Loeb. Now, I want to start off on a positive note. I've seen and read interviews with Jeph Loeb. He is a very passionate guy, and he is talented. He is no hack. Also he's gone through something that no-one should ever have to experience;- the loss of a child. His son died in 2005, aged 17, which can't be easy for anyone. So I just wanted to get that out of the way before I rip the guy to shreds.
Jeph Loeb has produced some fantastic work. Not only that, but hes produced some of the most famous stories. Batman The Long Halloween is one of the most renowned and famous titles to have been produced. Certainly if anyone ever asks "What Batman stories should I read" that one is usually at the top of the list. After writing at DC for many moons Jeph Loeb came over and started writing Marvel comics sometime 2007 (although he had written for them previously)
What he has done to Marvel since is completely obliterate one of their lines of comic books, specifically the Ultimate line. The Marvel Ultimate line was an idea conceived in 2000, to re-do the Marvel universe, but with more realistic stories, and a grittier world....a fact Jeph Loeb seems to have interpreted as "stories that don't make sense and pointless destruction of personalities"
The Ultimates is a comic written by Mark Millar. It is essentially an Ultimate version of The Avengers. There was a volume 1 and a volume 2, and they are critically acclaimed as being a modern classic. Absolutely stunning pieces of work.
Jeph Loeb wrote volume 3. He had the Ultimates go up against The Brotherhood (and Venom....for no reason) and the Ultimates turned out to be robots (I think....the writing was too ridiculous to actually absorb) this was down right disrespectful to Mark Millar in my humble opinion, and down right disrespectful to the thousands of loyal fans of this epic modern classic. Jeph just didn't get it. He didn't get the point of the comic. The personalities for the characters were all wrong. The costumes had all been changed from modern unique and iconic, to practically what they are in the normal Marvel Universe. And of course the storyline was ridiculous, with a classic "ridiculous/cop out" twist, (them being robots)
Not content however with ruining one of the best stories and comic books of recent times, Jeph has now set out to completely destroy the ENTIRE Ultimate universe, with his mini-series "Ultimatum" its quite impressive actually, as I type this upto issue 4 has been released, and each new issue I read sets the record of the worst comic I've ever read. I truely didn't think it could get any worse with 2, 3 and indeed 4. Basically Magneto has shifted the magnetic poles or some ridiculous crap, and this caused a tidal wave to rip through Manhattan, and in turn kill half the X-Men (who just happened to be there) it causes Dr Stranges building to explode and demons or whatever be released, then someone squeezes him till his head explodes, Spider-Man supposedly dies, Magneto snaps Professor X's neck, Blob bites off Wasp's head, then Yellowjacket bites off Blobs head. Oh and Captain America fighting zombies in Asguardian hell? I think.
Its a poorly written, patronising mess. Its the opposite of why I read comics. Its a childs vision of x amount of crappy "OMG!" events linked together with no logic whatsoever. Jeph Loeb has ruined the Ultimate Marvel Universe, and I can't see it ever recovering, properly.
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